Welcome to a library of articles about the business of design.
You'll find articles about current research, our experience founding and managing a design studio and about insights uncovered during mentoring sessions with Australian designers.
The articles are released weekly via a news-packed EDM. Subscribe via the homepage
Positioning: getting the right fit
A well-thought-out positioning strategy will identify the right problem/solution/service/client fit that translates into premium pricing or lower costs.
Can you spot the difference?
This is an article about how designers can differentiate themselves from AI. And how we can help clients understand the difference.
Design has become so complex
Design has become more complex as designers have to swap back and forth between traditional visual design and digital
5 things successful studios do
This article lists the 5 things are common to successful studios we work with. Successful studios – in our view – are those where everyone is happy, healthy and well rewarded.
Scaling up a design business
Scaling a design business is not easy. The battle is to get new business then add designers…
A simple strategy to get more work
There are really only two ways for creatives to get more work. Either find new clients or get more work from existing clients. Here’s one simple strategy that will help both activities…
Technology doesn’t disrupt, design does
Designers are the disruptors. They move away from technology-driven answers to human centred designs.
Promotion by job title
Promoting designers by job title only, not by an increase in salary is detrimental to the designer, to the design business and to the creative industry. Here’s why.
How much should you tell a client?
Designer’s websites show beautifully-finished designs but in reality, designing takes time and can get messy. We don’t tell clients that.
Getting paid for research
In design research you are trying to understand the customers beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviour and interactions.
How designers use social contracts
Business strategists suggest we ignore competitors and only worry about what we can control. I would argue the opposite – the more we know, the better.
Scoping for value
We aim to get recognised and paid for the value we create, not the hours we spend on the project. We want to shift from a cost focus to a value focus.
